Amendment 41 eases up a smidge

Good news all you government employees planning on receiving a gift: The $50 limit is now $53.

That’s because Amendment 41, an ethics measure pushed by now Congressman Jared Polis and approved by voters in 2006, included an inflation factor. The next adjustment won’t be for another four years.

Amendment 41, among other things, bans government employees, “including independent contractors,” from accepting gifts valued at more than $50. When it was first passed, there were concerns the children of government workers could not accept scholarships.

After the measure passed, Polis conceded it was “poorly worded but not awfully worded.”

“I regret the pain and uncertainty that this has caused, especially for students,” he said, at the time. “I regret that what the voters gave the legislature was poorly worded, but I’m hopeful that the legislature does its best to execute it in good faith.

Joey Bunch has been a reporter for 28 years, including the last 12 at The Denver Post. For various newspapers he has covered the environment, water issues, politics, civil rights, sports and the casino industry.